Late 2000 - Early 2001: The Raelians, Dr. Antinori, and US Congressional Action

At the end of 2000 and the beginning of 2001, US media gave
prominent coverage to announcements of two separate avowedly
imminent efforts to clone a child—one by a religious sect,
the Raelians; the other by a private consortium of fertility
researchers led by Severino Antinori and Panos Zavos. In February
2001, cover stories on human cloning appeared in Wired, Time,
and The New York Times Magazine.

The tone of these and other stories on human cloning ranged
from amused speculation to urgency and seriousness. In March,
media coverage focused on hearings on human cloning held by
the House of Representatives. Many other news articles recounted
the negative reactions of governments and civil society organizations
around the world.